I met Mrs. Kenney at the beginning of senior year of high school, but she has been one of my biggest supporters since meeting her. At the beginning of the school year, I bought a necklace that said “Romans 8:39” which reminds me of my father who passed away. One day, I forgot my necklace at home and cried in Mrs. Kenney’s class. I was so upset and hurt and I didn’t know what to do, however, Mrs. Kenney did. She took me into the hallway and talked to me like a person, not just a student. She let me know that everything was going to be alright and that just because the necklace wasn’t with me that didn’t mean my father wasn’t.

Senior teacher of the year Mrs. Kenney won the award because of the personal connections she makes with students. She is sensible and relatable, her unexpected and sly sense of humor is unique, and she never fails to put a smile on her students’ faces.

Winning Teacher of the Year after 18 years of teaching, Mrs. Kenney is grateful for this honor, “because [she] think[s] this is something the kids decide, which is far more important than anything else,” she said.

For senior Tiana Barnes, Mrs. Kenney saw something in [her] when nobody else did, Barnes explained. “She’s the reason I take honors classes now.”

To me, Mrs. Kenny is one of the few teachers who have genuinely cared about me both academically and emotionally, and I know that other students feel the same, that is why I am so proud to call her our senior teacher of the year.